10 'Next Big Thing' Movies That Completely Flopped

10. The Mummy

The Mummy
Universal Pictures

Pour one out for the Dark Universe. We hardly knew you.

As mentioned in the introduction, Marvel's MCU is one of the few 'next big thing' cinematic enterprises that actually worked, and when other studios caught wind of how much money was to be gained from creating an interconnected universe of franchises, they tripped over themselves trying to push their own out the door.

Universal Pictures was one of the boldest producers on this front, getting out before a single reel of film had been recorded to reveal their plans for a Dark Universe, which would unite their classic horror icons like The Mummy, Dr Jekyll (and Mr Hyde), Frankenstein and the Invisible Man in one shared universe, played by some top-tier talent as well.

Tom Cruise's The Mummy was the franchise's debut, and killed the entire thing before it even had a chance. More of a big-budget superhero movie (which makes sense considering the MCU's success) than a horror-leaning adventure, this trainwreck lacked any real identity, bombed at the box-office, and forced Universal to completely shift gears.

At least DC gave their superhero universe a fair shake before jumping ship.

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Josh has over 11 years of experience as a published writer, having worked nine of those years as a full-time content producer at WhatCulture. In that period he has created hundreds of articles, videos and podcast episodes for multiple WhatCulture channels, specialising in gaming, horror and film & TV. He now primarily works as a senior content producer and presenter on WhatCulture Gaming where he co-hosts the WhatCulture Gaming Podcast, a top 3 UK most listened to gaming podcast that he co-created in 2018. Over the years he has reviewed several high-profile gaming releases, covered industry events with on-site reporting, opined on breaking news, and even kicked off his interviewing career by chatting to childhood hero, Tommy Wiseau.